Utair

Airline of Russia

In February 1967, the Aeroflot Tyumen Directorate was set up to meet the transport requirements of the fast growing oil and gas industry undergoing development in western Siberia. In the wake of the break up of the Aeroflot organization, Tyumenaviatrans Aviation (TAT) was formed in 1991 to replace the Aeroflot Tyumen Directorate. TAT adopted the name of UTair in 2002. The airline is owned by Khanty Mansiysk District administration (23%), Surgut City administration (19%), Russian shareholders and companies (33%), the Russian Federation (2%), and private foreign investors (20%). In October 2010, Utair announced plans to replace its Tupolev Tu 134 fleet with the Sukhoi Superjet 100. In December, UTair officially placed an order for 24 of the jets to enter service in 2013. Also in 2010, the airline named a Tu 154 aircraft after Boris Evdokimovich Sherbina, a Tyumenfigure. In November 2014, Utair faced financial difficulties and was unable to make a bond payment. In April 2015, Utair announced a fleet reduction of over 50 aircraft due to financial difficulty. It also cancelled its order for 24 Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft. A few weeks later, its regional airline subsidiary UTair Express ceased operations. In December 2015, it was announced that Utair sold its leisure subsidiary Azur Air to Turkish tourism company Anex Tourism Group, which had bought UTair Ukraine a few weeks earlier. On 31 October 2017, Utair announced its rebranding and changing its name from "UTair Aviation" to "Utair". On 8 April 2022 the US Department of Commerce restricted flights on aircraft manufactured in the US for Aeroflot, Aviastar, Azur Air, Belavia, Rossiya and Utair.

As of November 2023, UTair serves eight countries with 123 routes.

With the exception of the ATR 72 500, Utair has an all Boeing fleet. as of 2022, the Utair mainline fleet consists of the following aircraft (excluding helicopters and subsidiaries' aircraft):
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers NotesBETotalRefsATR 72 50015——7070Boeing 737 4006—6144150Including RA 73069 / MSN 28478, the last Boeing 737 Classic ever built. Boeing 737 50030—8108116—126126Boeing 737 8009—8165173Boeing 767 200ER3—–249249Total6330

On 17 March 2007, UTair Flight 471, a Tupolev Tu 134, crash landed at Samara, killing 7 people and injuring 26. On 2 July 2008, a Utair Mi 8 helicopter crashed in Yamal region, killing 9 and injuring 7 on board. On 16 January 2010, a Utair Boeing 737 500, registration VQ BAC, overrun the runway on landing at Vnukovo International Airport and was substantially damaged when the nosewheel collapsed. On 20 December 2011, a Utair Mil Mi 26T helicopter crashed in an oilfield in Western Siberia; one person was killed. Utair grounded all its Mil Mi 26T helicopters following this incident. On 2 April 2012, UTair Flight 120, an ATR 72 200, registration VP BYZ, crashed approximately from Roshchino International Airport serving Tyumen, Western Siberia, on a flight to Surgut International Airport. The aircraft was carrying 39 passengers and 4 crew. To date, 10 survivors with serious injuries and burns have been confirmed. On 4 July 2012, a helicopter operated by Utair for an oil and gas company crashed in a remote area about 4 kilometers from the runway of Lensk Airport near Lensk. The wreckage was found several hours later and three bodies were recovered, with the fourth person presumed killed. The cause was not immediately known, but Utair grounded all aircraft at Lensk Airport pending an investigation into the quality of fuel supply at the airport. On 4 August 2018, an MI 8 helicopter belonging to Utair crashed about 180 km from the town of Igarka, in Krasnoyarsk Territory, killing all 18 on board. On 1 September 2018, Utair Flight 579, a Boeing 737 800, registration VQ BJI, on a flight from Vnukovo with 164 passengers and 6 crew, overran the runway and caught fire while landing in Sochi, injuring 18 people. On 9 February 2020, Utair Flight 595, a Boeing 737 500 on a domestic flight from Vnukovo International Airport (Moscow), crash landed at Usinsk Airport, Russia, following a landing gear collapse. All 100 passengers and crew survived the accident.